Dr. Joel Levine and Dr. Daniel Rosenberg are tracking the earliest molecular footprints made by colon cancer. The University of Connecticut Health Center researchers hope the faint genetic signs will lead them to the hidden fork in the road where aberrant but harmless cells take a deadly new path and become killers. Tracing that path may help doctors identify people most at risk of developing colon cancer, well before the first telltale polyp forms, and help scientists discover new ways to block cancer from ever developing.

By ANERI PATTANI, apattani@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, July 10, 2014

HARTFORD - Although rubber band bracelets are a trend at their school, Keeley Joyal and Lindsay Masamery had more than fashion in mind when they started making the bracelets by the dozen. On Thursday, the two girls went to Hartford Hospital to deliver nearly 500 of the bracelets to cancer patients. Each bracelet, made by weaving together colorful rubber bands, was made by Keeley, Lindsay or one of their peers at Somers Elementary School and had an inspirational message attached.

Darryl Strawberry plays for the Yankees. This makes him a natural enemy of Tommy Nettelbladt. Nettelbladt loves the Red Sox so much, in fact, that two days after their playoff demise he still couldn't find appropriate words for his disappointment. "But I'll tell you," Nettelbladt, 60, said, "I'm pulling for Strawberry." The Yankees slugger and the Red Sox fan, two athletes who have never met, share a powerful bond. They are two of 131,600 Americans who will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 1998.

By KATHLEEN MEGAN, kmegan@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, May 19, 2014

HARTFORD — Under the elms of Trinity's College quadrangle, broadcast journalist Katie Couric charmed and inspired graduates and their families Sunday with tales of getting rejected, the need for passion and chutzpah in a career, and a few of her own salty insights. Couric, 57, who said she was rejected by Smith College, where two older sisters were "superstars," said that when she graduated from the University of Virginia, she decided to try television news. "No one, I mean no one, saw a scintilla of potential in me," she said.

New cases: An estimated 131,600 cases in 1988, including 95,600 of colon cancer and 36,000 of rectal cancer. Colorectal cancers account for about 11% of new cancer diagnoses. Deaths: An estimated 47,700 from colon cancer. Signs and symptoms: Rectal bleeding, blood in the stool, a change in bowel habits. Risk factors: A personal or family history of colorectal cancer or polyps, and inflammatory bowel disease have been associated with increased colorectal cancer risk.

March Is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month One of the deadliest cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States - depending upon where it starts, it can be referred to as colon cancer or rectal cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be almost 97,000 new cases of colon cancer and 40,000 new cases of rectal cancer in the U.S. this year alone. That's just one reason why March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and ASAP Urgent Care is talking about prevention and helping people find out whether they're at risk.

By WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, January 3, 2014

A UConn researcher is part of an international team of scientists that has developed a DNA database that will bring colon-cancer risks into sharper focus for patients. Until now, genetic tests have provided only a frustratingly vague idea about patients' risks for colon cancer. The new database will help physicians determine whether patients have Lynch syndrome, an inherited disorder that greatly increases the risk for colorectal cancer. For the general population, there's a 5.5 percent risk of colon cancer; for those with Lynch syndrome, the risk is 52 percent to 82 percent.

A free program on colon cancer will be presented at 7 p.m. today in the H. Louise Ruddell Auditorium at Manchester Memorial Hospital, 71 Haynes St. Saumitra Banerjee, a surgeon on the hospital's medical staff, will discuss prevention, screening and diagnosis of colon cancer. He will include in his talk information about genetic testing and incidences of colon cancer in the United States. Advance registration is not required. Additional information may be obtained by calling 647-6849.

Diane Plunkett of Southington had no symptoms of colon cancer when her doctor found signs of trouble during a routine screening. Although seeing a doctor can be the best way to detect the cancer -- which is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States for both men and women -- an at-home test is available free this month. The test can be picked up at any Arrow Pharmacy and Prescription Center, and it can be done at home. If it indicates the presence of blood in the colon, people should take it to a doctor for further testing.

By DAVID OWENS, dowens@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, March 3, 2014

Mae Keane did not care much for the job she had during the summer of 1924, painting radioactive radium onto watch dials to make them glow in the dark. The pay was 8 cents a dial and Keane, then 18, was not as fast as her supervisor wanted her to be. Keane and her co-workers at Waterbury Clock Co., all young women, were told they could paint faster if they dipped their brushes into the radium-laden paint and then sharpened the bristles with their lips. But the paint was bitter and Keane would not "lip-point," as the practice was known.

March Is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month One of the deadliest cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States - depending upon where it starts, it can be referred to as colon cancer or rectal cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be almost 97,000 new cases of colon cancer and 40,000 new cases of rectal cancer in the U.S. this year alone. That's just one reason why March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and ASAP Urgent Care is talking about prevention and helping people find out whether they're at risk.

By DAVID OWENS, dowens@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, March 3, 2014

Mae Keane did not care much for the job she had during the summer of 1924, painting radioactive radium onto watch dials to make them glow in the dark. The pay was 8 cents a dial and Keane, then 18, was not as fast as her supervisor wanted her to be. Keane and her co-workers at Waterbury Clock Co., all young women, were told they could paint faster if they dipped their brushes into the radium-laden paint and then sharpened the bristles with their lips. But the paint was bitter and Keane would not "lip-point," as the practice was known.

The Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center is offering a free community event that will focus on nutrition and colon health on Wednesday, March 12 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Saybrook Point Inn & Spa, located at 2 Bridge Street. Several medical experts from Middlesex Hospital will take part in a panel discussion about the importance of preventing colon cancer through screening and proper nutrition. The panelists include: Sarah Canavan M.D., gastroenterologist; Michael Parker M.D., surgeon; Michael Farrell M.D., oncologist; Amanda Hamblett M.S., C.G.C., genetic counselor; and Sarah Robertson, R.D., registered dietitian.

By WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, January 3, 2014

A UConn researcher is part of an international team of scientists that has developed a DNA database that will bring colon-cancer risks into sharper focus for patients. Until now, genetic tests have provided only a frustratingly vague idea about patients' risks for colon cancer. The new database will help physicians determine whether patients have Lynch syndrome, an inherited disorder that greatly increases the risk for colorectal cancer. For the general population, there's a 5.5 percent risk of colon cancer; for those with Lynch syndrome, the risk is 52 percent to 82 percent.

Barbara Prindle, Greater New England Bladder Cancer Support Group and Farmington Valley, April 30, 2013

The Greater New England Bladder Cancer Support Group is holding a Community Awareness Walk on Saturday,May 4, at the Farmington River Trail located at 352 Collinsville Road (route #4) Farmington. The walk will be held rain or shine. The path is paved and fairly flat for creating a very easy walk. The view of the river alongside the trail is peaceful. Our walk is part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness and much needed research funds for bladder cancer. Please help us further the awareness of Bladder Cancer and come join in the fun. You can meet with us at the pavilion, which is located at the trail head.

By WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, April 24, 2013

Jackson Laboratory researchers say a specific molecule can be used to kill certain cancer cells. For a study in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers at the Bar Habor, Maine, facility of Jackson Laboratory introduced a molecule known as DIDS to cancer cell lines and found that 40 percent of the time, doing so shut down a particular gene that increases the aggressiveness of tumors. Researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York also collaborated on the study.

Using new imaging technology, doctors at the University of Connecticut can now see with unprecedented clarity the odd-looking groups of raised cells that may be the beginnings of colon cancer. Close-focus/narrow-band imaging scopes may one day help provide clues to the genesis of cancer -- and help test new treatments designed to stop cancer in its tracks, the UConn experts say. The new scopes allow doctors to get a better look at aberrant crypt foci, or ACF -- raised clusters of cells with a distinctive slit-like opening that can form on the colon wall.

Consumer Reports recently shone a light on oversold cancer screenings that might confuse rather than clarify. The report evaluates 11 cancer screenings, finding that eight should be avoided. The report, available online at ConsumerReports.org and wherever magazines are sold, notes that the ratings are for people who are not at high risk and without signs or symptoms of cancer. Screening tests for cervical, colon and breast cancers are the most effective tests available, according to Consumer Reports' first Ratings of cancer-screening tests.